


Repent

by Saraku



Series: Those Who Seek [MarcoAce Week 2016] [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reminiscing, Wishful Thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 03:24:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8873884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saraku/pseuds/Saraku
Summary: They all knew of Ace’s protectiveness from personal experience, but only now did Marco realize that Ace had good reason to be so.





	

“Where’s Ace?”

Marco looked up, looking around the galley, and narrowed his eyes when he realized that Ace was, indeed, not with them. It was odd, since Ace was one of the first people – if not the first – to always grab food. With a sigh, Marco stood up, folding the newspaper he was reading, grabbing a plat of food for Ace. “I’ll get him, yoi,” Marco reassured. “Go, eat. Izo’s waiting for you.”

Thatch face flushed red, and Marco smirked as he left, Thatch’s befuddled stammering in his wake. He knocked on Ace’s door, curiosity buzzing in his mind when the Ace didn’t respond, before sighing and made his way towards the crow’s nest. Ace had confided to him that he loved seeing the free ocean and feeling the wind (which was relayed to Oyaji, who gave Ace a room that could provide both). He glanced up the roof of the crow’s nest, which was empty when it was normally littered with passing birds. Marco knew why it was empty, and he began to climb up.

Poking his head through the hatch, Marco’s eyes were attracted to something blue that was nestled on Ace’s orange hat. Heaving himself onto the crow’s nest, he could easily identify the object to be the goggles he had given Ace months prior. They were comfortably nestled over the blue smiley décor on Ace’s hat.

The teen himself had his knees up, arms lazily wrapped around them, face half-hidden, similar to when Marco had spoken to Ace prior the latter had joined them. Marco knew that the stance meant Ace wasn’t in the best mood. Marco tapped his foot to indicate his presence.

Ace raised his head slightly. “M’rco?” He mumbled, head turning just enough for Marco to make out silver eyes.

Marco exhaled silently at the sound of Ace’s quiet voice. Definitely not in a good mood. “Hey, Ace.” He placed the plate of food on one of the tables. “Want to talk, yoi?”

“…About what?”

“I don’t know.” Ace tilted his head, confused.  “...They stand out, yoi.”

“Huh?”

Marco smiled; at least Ace had responded. “The goggles. They stand out.”

“Ah,” Ace breathed out, “yeah. Blue is complimentary to orange, so…”

Marco raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Is that why you wanted it to be blue?” _And why that specific shape?_

“I…” Ace sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s – it’s complicated.”

“Then clear it up, yoi. For me,” Marco said, moving to sit beside Ace.

“The colours blue and yellow…. They’re just colours, but they mean a lot to me,” Ace said, tugging on his hat to hide his eyes.

“Is that why you wanted the goggles to be blue, and for Striker to be yellow?”

“Heh, yeah,” Ace admits, and Marco shifts over closer, smiling a little when Ace moves to give him space. “Striker was supposed to be red, but… Something’s already got that.”

Marco tilted his head, letting Ace continue. “You know Luffy already, but… he’s – he’s not my only brother. I had another one.” Ace sighed, biting his lip in frustration. “His name’s Sabo.”

 _Had._ Ace _had_ another brother. The knowledge of Ace having _a_ brother was known to four people: himself, Izo, Thatch, and Whitebeard. The idea of another one was incredulous, but the idea that Ace’s other brother was _dead?_

Ace’s hand brushed over his arm tattoo – specifically, the crossed-out S, and Marco’s mind is working overtime, connecting the dots at a fast pace. The thing wasn’t misspelled like the crew originally thought (and _damn_ , did they find that out the hard way), but now, Marco was understanding the reason of the letter.

“He was a noble, and he ran away,” Ace continued, oblivious to the worried face Marco was making. “Sabo, Luffy and I – we had decided to become brothers.” Ace’s ips twisted into a bittersweet smile.  “His favourite colour was blue – Luffy’s was red, but I had already claimed that as mine so he chose yellow instead.” Marco, as curious as he was, wanted Ace to stop talking because that broken voice did _not belong to his little brother._ “Then things… happened, to put it simply. Sabo got taken away – “

Ace paused, and Marco rested his hand on Ace’s shoulder to show support. “Ace… you don’t have to continue if – “

“And I – “ Ace’s voice c _racked_ , burying his face and Marco wrapped his arms around Ace, humming softly as he attempted to console the younger pirate’s shaking form. “I said we shouldn’t get him – that he’s _happy_ with that life, because I was an idiot and disregarded the fact that the very reason he ran away in the first place is because _he hated that life!”_

“Ace – “

“And – and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to join, because I’d be a shit brother who abandoned others – “

Marco had enough, and he twisted swiftly, hands grasping Ace’s shoulders as he forced the teen to look at him. “That’s enough, Ace. You are _not_ a terrible brother.” They all knew of Ace’s protectiveness from personal experience, but only now did Marco realize that Ace had good reason to be so. One of his brothers died, and from the sounds of it, Ace _could’ve_ done something.

But Marco knew Ace had been cornered.

“You are _not_ a terrible brother, Ace,” Marco repeated. “You always told me you’d live life without regrets. If you could have done something, you’d have done it, right?”

Ace wrenched his body away from Marco’s grip. “You _don’t understand, Marco!”_ Ace _roared_ , hands tangled in his hair, eyes frenzied. “I _let_ my brother go, and I didn’t do a damn thing! He hated the life of nobility and I left him there! Then he tried to escape and he _died in the fucking process!_ ”

“ _Hey._ ” Marco cut in, eyes hard as he and Ace stared at each other. “Ace. Calm down, yoi.” Ace took a shuddered breath, and Marco pretended that the tears that began to form weren’t there in Ace’s eyes.  

“In – in the end, Sabo died… for Luffy. For me. For _us_.”

Marco knew he fucked up when Ace said that; Marco knew he had only fueled Ace’s guilt complex.

Goddamnit. Time to pull his last card.

“Ace, you once said you and your brother – _brothers_ – wanted to be free, right, yoi?” The raven nodded. “Why freedom? What did freedom have that you craved?”

“Freedom – freedom made us happy.”

Marco slumped, a tired look on his face. “You’re free, aren’t you, Ace? You’re experiencing something that makes you happy – that made _all_ of you happy. ”

“How do you know he’d be happy for us? That’d he’s happy we’re alive?” Ace asked in a whisper, and Marco realized Ace looked like his age of eighteen – underneath the happy-go-lucky attitude was a man – no, a _child_ – suffering from problems the previous generation had shoved on them.

“I was a noble too, Ace,” Marco responded, biting down a smile when Ace shifted to stare at him in surprise. “I also wanted freedom. And here, with those I call my family, if I were to die for them, I’d be happy that they’re _alive_ , yoi. And if this Sabo is half the person you made him sound to be, then I’m sure he’d be happy for you.”

Ace kept quiet, eyes overlooking the waters again, mouth set in a crease and Marco shifted over to see that Ace was biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

“Look at where you are – look at where you started,” Marco said, repeating the words he told Ace after their first flight, brushing the raven’s hair. “The fact that you’re alive is a miracle… just stay alive, Ace, and that would be enough.”

_That would be enough._

**Author's Note:**

> ...Those Hamilton lyrics don't help with the events of canon, don't they? |D  
>  If the reader wishes so, all this can take place in my AU where they all live (and the bad guys die. I.. need to give that AU a name), so happiness abound.
> 
> This thing ran away from me and went away from the prompt. Dang it.


End file.
